2 Week Count Down...

Today I start my much awaited maternity leave.  Wow!  It feels like a regular weekend day so far.  I have a list of tasks I'd like to get done before baby arrives.  Started with the carpet cleaners this morning, which was super fasto!  They were done with most of the house in about 30 minutes, it seemed to me.  So I was able to lay down for a nap right after...  carpets are all wet anyway, so what else is there to do.  Next on the task list is finishing the sorting of baby clothes, re-arranging the pantry, finishing a quilt I've had partially sewn together for several years (I finally got the missing piece of minky fabric for the back).  I'm sure I'll come up with more tasks to be done.

Co-worker (she has 2 kids) says that my belly has dropped a bit.  I can't tell, it's just huge to me.  My appetite has been off.  I sorta kinda get hungry, but then when I have food it doesn't seem all that appetizing. I have also noticed I get the burpies when I haven't eaten in a while.  Which reminds me I had to make an emergency run to Target on Monday as my bra was feeling so tight it was making me a bit nauseous.  I got a couple of sports bras instead, what a relief.

My giant belly is like a planet with its own gravitational force...  I always end up with crumbs on it when I eat.  Even manage to spill water on it whenever I take a drink.  And the inevitable dollop of toothpaste as I brush my teeth.  I should put on a belly bib.

Maja has been extra cuddly lately, cozying up to me at night...  actually, she curls up on my side of the bed when I get up to pee, so I end up cozying up to her when I get back in bed.  Either way, it's cute.  The temps were high over the weekend...  so I was hanging around the house with belly exposed to avoid overheating.  Maja gave belly a couple of kisses and snuggled up for a nap.    

Even Maja is drawn to the belly.

Took Maja to the big doggies to play, and they were all chillin' happily together.  It was great.  Maja has infinite energy and just wants to run around and be chased.  At some point they all calmed down and we managed to get a good picture of them together.  The calm didn't last long though.  Soon a ruckus started over the pink ball.  It's funny and scary when one of the big boys growls at Maja and she sticks her head in their mouth.  ?!?  She's nuts!

3 Weeks To Go...

It's the final countdown...  Lots has happened since my last post (no baby yet), I just haven't been in the blogging groove.  So in backwards order, let's see what has been going on.

I think my bras are getting tight around my rib cage again, feeling very burpy and constrained.  But I hate to drop $50 on a pair that I will only wear for a couple of weeks.  Agh.  Plus going to the mall is not on my list of fun things to do right now.  I still need to get a nursing bra and tanktop in preparation though, so I suppose I need to schedule the trip soon.

Baby was super active last night (as I was sprawled on the couch watching "Property Brothers"), pushing on all sides of the belly.  Even pushed out the belly button.  I got a video of some of the rolling...  be forewarned, it could creep you out.

Generally I wake up with very stiff hips and plenty of discomfort walking around, but yesterday it felt like I had a pinched nerve in my left hip joint.  Could feel shooting pain with every step.  Fortunately I had already scheduled a prenatal massage for the afternoon, and even better the massuist trained in injuries and such things.  So I got a "fix it" massage, not a "relax" massage.  She said my hips were misaligned, the right hip being a little higher than the left, causing the pressure to be on the left.  So she straightened me out and I could tell the moment I got off the massage table.  YEY!  I still have general discomfort in the hips, but at least I can walk without wincing with each left leg step.

Yesterday I was told my belly looks like it expanded sideways overnight.  My face is looking chubbier, I think.  Today the scale said 151#, wowsa.  I haven't been as strict with the eating routine.  Tiredness trumps appetite.  Sometimes nothing seems appetizing, so I just graze on whatever is easily available...  like the leftover raspberry apple pie from an co-worker's birthday on Tuesday.

B is for Big Blue Belly.

On Sunday P, M, and I piled into the car and made the drive to the 99 Ranch in Richmond to stock up on the black chickens for the after-birth soup.  Will you believe how expensive those darn chickens are???  About $22 each!  EESHK!  I'm still not sure it was worth it, but I got 6 of them and now they are waiting in the freezer for Pops to boil them up once baby arrives.

Saturday morning we had the Childbirth Preparation make-up class.  Went over several positions and breathing patterns for labor.  It was good for me to go through it again as some of them were new to me...  or I just forgot them.  But now Philipp knows them!

Last week Friday was the office baby shower.  We had fajita lunch catered, variety of cookies, and a half sheet chocolate cake.  We got lots of gifts for baby, so he has a full wardrobe and lots of toys for entertainment.  Entertainment at the party was a gathering of 4 doggies, oh and a few games:

- Guess the circumference of B's belly in measures of squares of toilet paper...  11, Massimo won.

- Guess what chocolate bar is melted into the diaper (10 different ones)...  pretty gross.  Luis won with 5 correct guesses (I only got 3 right).

- Who can chug the sparkling water out of the baby bottle the fastest...  Massimo won.  

Inspecting diapers.

Chugging baby bottles. 

Family pic.

Friday afternoon was also my weekly check up with the Doc.  Nothing new.  Was told to make sure I drink loads of water to avoid stiff joints and swelling.  But I do!  Just not at night as it would keep me awake continuously peeing...  and it is usually in the morning when I feel the most stiff (hands, hips).  

Majita Papita scratched at her hot spot on Friday during the baby shower.  Not pretty.  Over the weekend it wasn't getting any better, even looked like the spot was getting bigger.  So we took Maja Bear to the vet on Tuesday, turns out it is a bacterial skin infection (not hot spot) and now she is on antibiotics for 2 weeks, plus an oinment for a week.  Vet buzzed down the spot and the infected spot is larger than we thought.  Maja also managed to fall into the pond in the backyard of the office, tsk tsk.  So after the vet we went home, trimmed her, and gave her a much needed bath.  How to keep her out of the pond though?

Last week brother WG was in town for work.  Maja looooves Uncle WG, especially playing hide the bone with him.  Every morning Maja would jump out of bed and go straight to his door to check if he was awake yet.  Awww...

Random Stuff

This morning Maja and I were up at around 3:30am...  So we went outside and I walked a lap around the yard.  Then we both sprawled out on the couch in the living room, Maja snoozing and me trying to finish the Robert Ludlum book "The Holcroft Covenant" (it was so-so, but once I start a book I'm committed and I have to finish it).  We finally went back to bed around 5am, Maja cuddled up against my belly.  Soon Maja was twitching in her sleep, and baby was twitching in my belly.  Pretty funny situation.

Baby gets hiccup attacks 2-3 times a day, that I notice.  I haven't gotten "kicked" in the ribs yet, a condition I have heard many pregnant women complain of.  Also, baby moving in the belly at night doesn't wake me up, at least I don't think so.  I wake up when I have to pee.  Which reminds me, I have lined my side of the bed with pee-pee pads (potty training pads I got for Maja but never used) just in case I don't wake up on time.  I have even dreamed I had to go pee, and then wake up scrambling out of bed.

I thought I spotted stretch marks on the side of my belly a few weeks back, but I don't see them anymore.  Could be bed marks from sleeping on my side?  Itchiness still happens.

A couple of weeks back I was walking to the post office.  An older guy was walking in the opposite direction.  I smiled and said "Hi", he just said: "Are you having twins?"  Um...  that's an odd question to a random stranger on the street.  NOOO!  Aiyah.

On another note, Maja got to "swim" in a pool for the first time.  Supposedly doggies know how to swim by instinct.  Philipp said if you hold a dog over water s/he will start paddling.  So we tried it out.  We dunked her in the pool 3 times.  First time she managed to get to the step and get herself out of the pool.  Below is a video of the 2nd time.

Updating

This morning I woke up and my whole body was achy.  Hips, knees, feet, elbows, ankles, you name it.  Even my thumbs were feeling stiff!  Ah, and the tailbone...  I'm walking funny today cause it is a pretty awkward feeling. 


Maybe I overdid it yesterday standing around in the kitchen too long prepping for the family BBQ.  I didn't think it would be that big a deal.  Just 6 humans and 4 doggies.  Keeping the menu simple, the invite said we would have burgers with all the fixings.  Period.  Of course, I had to go complicate it by grinding up my own meat mixture for the patties.  At least I bought the pre-cleaned romaine lettuce!  Ah, I also hacked up a giant watermelon to make agua fresca.  By the time guests arrived, my hips and lower back were feeling quite sore.  Burgers were good tho!

Since Philipp missed the infant care session of the birthing class, yesterday I did a demo for him using a stuffed monkey.  We wiped his butt, put a diaper on, dressed him in a onesie, and swaddled him.  Then took it all off to give him a sponge bath.  And put it all back on and tested the car seat/stroller.  Monkey seemed pretty happy with all the attention.  We rolled him around the house in the stroller and all the doggies followed curious to see Monkey.

Feeling extra tired this week.  A few times I've woken up way too early and not able to go back to sleep.  At 4:45am I decided to just walk a lap around the house, and Maja followed me out of bed.  As soon as she wakes up tho, have to let her out cause her digestive system starts moving.  So we went for a little stroll in the cool pre-dawn air.  I eventually fell asleep again, only to be woken up by the darn alarm clock at 6:30am.  Sigh.

And the wrist pain.  In the last year or so, I have developed this strange habit of sleeping with my hands bent in tucked under my chin or pillow, putting pressure on my wrist joints.  So sometimes I wake up with my hands asleep and/or achy wrists.  Hard to control what I do when I'm unconscious. Belly has gotten more difficult to position.  When I sit I guess I tend to bend at the sternum, which puts pressure on my esophagus or something causing discomfort.  I'm constantly shifting in my seat when I'm sitting at a meeting or in front of my computer or TV.  But when I stand my knees and lower back ache.  Laying down on my left side is about the only position I find I don't have to shift too much in.  But for all my complaints on the belly, I also know I will miss carrying baby around this way.  So I am also trying to enjoy the time we have left together.

Today had check up with OBGYN.  Aside from the usual urine test, blood pressure check (102/60), baby heartbeat (140), and belly measurement (35cm), we also had an ultrasound to make sure baby is head down (he is!), a GBS swab (to test for bacteria that can be harmful to baby if present during natural birth), and check for status of cervix (very closed).  From now on, it is weekly appointments with Doc until baby arrives.

Maja's preferred sitting position when she rides in the front seat with me...